Undergarment



E. D. HAIGHT.

UNDERGARMENT. APPLICATION FILED JULY 10, 1919.

Patnted Nov. 23, 19.20.

.UNITED STATES EVEREST DEN SLOW HAIGI-IT,

PATENT. OFFICE,

UN DERGARMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 23, 1920.

Application'flled July 10, 1919. Serial No. 309,871.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, EVEREST D. HAIGHT, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Undergarments; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

. This invention relates generally to wearing apparel, and more particularly to undergarments, such as childrens waists and athletic union suits.

Heretofore' it has been the custom to finish the edges of undergarments made of woven fabric, such as nainsook, about the arm holes and neck openin s with plain hems or with strips of lace to form the edges. This constructlon leaves rather sharp edges at the places specified, especially after washing and ironing as the woven fabric is then generally in a rather stifi' condition. These sharp edges are particularly undesirable in childrens garments which are worn next to the skin, as childrens skin is usually tender and subject to many irritations and the sharp edges irritate the flesh. Furthermore, with such an edging for undergarments there is no elasticity at the arm holes and neck opening, and as these parts are subjected at times to considerable strain, the garment is often ripped or ruptured.

It is therefore the purpose of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned I y objections, and to produce a wovenfabric garment having smooth or soft, strai ht,

strain-absorbing bands made of knitted abric about its openings, especially the arm holes and neck opening. The garment is thus made elastic about the openings where the movement of the parts of the body causes strains, and for this reason the improvement is very desirable particularly in childrens waists and athletic union suits.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists of the novel features of construction, and the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

sook.

In the accompanying drawings in which slmilar reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views Figure 1 is a front View of an undergarment constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the upper portion of the garment adjacent one of the arm holes and the neck opening.

Fig. 3 is a sectional perspective through the edge of one of the arm holes.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, an undergarment is shown consisting of a body portion 1 for disposition around the Wearers body, and provided with arm holes 2 and a neck opening 3. The garment is'made of the material usually employed in making summer underwear, such ma terial being a woven fabric such as nain- This material is especially adapted for undergarments owing to its coolness and durability, and its inexpensive nature, and also because it is easily susceptible of. being cleaned. When laundered, however, this'woven fabric which is naturally inelastic, becomes rather stiff and where the edges of the arm holes and neck opening contact with the skin of the wearer a cutting or irritation will result. This uncomfortableness is overcome by stitching relatively .wide bands or strips 4 of soft elastic knitted fabric along one of their edges to the edges of the openings of the garment, especially the arm holes and neck opening. The major portions of thesestrips or bands extend beond the openings for contact with the parts of the body in such openings and they therefore provide soft and elastic bearings for such parts of the body. It will be noted that these bands 4 are not mere bindings and ornamental edgings commonly applied to the openings of underwear, but they form substantial cushioning and-strain-absorbing elements at the points where there is the most friction and strain. For the purpose of forming a very thin section where the soft elastic knitted material is connected to the inelastic woven material, the strips 4 are preferably made from seamless knitted tubes flattened out as. shown in Fig. 3, and stitched along one of their folds to the edges I of the arm holes and neck opening. :The'

. upper portions of the strips 4 merge and have their adjacent edges stitched together to form elastic shoulder straps ment.

From the foregoing description, taken in cpnnection with the accompan ings it will be seen that the objects of the--- invention have been effectively attained.

The improved garment of woven fabric havin strips of soft knitted fabric at the arm vho es and neck opening has all of the ad-' vantages of an ordinary woven fabric garment, and in addition thereto it has the softness, smoothness and elastic qualities at the arm holes and neck opening of the usual knitted garment. The improved arment combines the coolness of a woven abric body, with the softnessand durability.

of knitted elastic edges at the arm holes and neck opening, and is especially comfortable during warm weather when irrita- V tion is not likely to result from the contact of the soft smooth edges with the tender skin 'tation.

'of the wearer. Hence, the garment is especially applicable for use for children whose skin is tender and therefore subject to irri- Furthermore, with elastic edges about the arm holes and neck openingin use.

place of the usual sharp edges, the garment will not easily be torn or ruptured when in It is to be understood that changes in form, proportion, and in the minor details of construction may be resorted to without for the gar; p

' of a body portion-made of inelastic woven draw-p openings elastic.

departing from the spirit ofthe invention as define in the appended claims. a What is claimed is:

l. In an undergarment, the combination fabric, and flat strips of soft elastic knitted fabric secured at one of their edges to the edges of the openings of-the garment, the major-portions of said strips extending beyond the edges of said openings and forming the real openings of the garment, whereby said, strips serve as cushions, for preventin irritation'of the portions of the body whic extend through t e openings and render the 2. In an undergarment for summer wear,

the combination of a" body portion made of thin inelastic woven fabric, and strips formed of flattened. seamless tubesof'soft .elastic knitted fabric folded longitudinally at opposite places and having one of'their folded edges overlapping the edges of the openings of the'garment and stitched there to, the major-portions of said strips extendingjbeyond the edges of said openings and forming the real openings ofzthe garment,

EVEREST DENSLOW HAIGH'T. 

